Adaptation of predetermined beam switching

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. Communications by wireless devices may be modified when beam pair links (BPLs) experience decreased link quality. For example, a controlling wireless device may communicate with a secondary wireless device using a set of BPLs. The controlling and secondary wireless device may each cycle through the set of BPLs at respective times of a communication time period. Upon detecting one or more BPLs having a decreased link quality during a portion of the communication time period, the controlling wireless device may transmit a configuration modifying the communications. For instance, the modified communications may include replacing the one or more BPLs with different BPLs having a relatively higher link quality. In other cases, the modified communications may include using repeated transmissions during the portion of the communication time period or excluding the BPLs experiencing decreased link quality from the communication time period.

CROSS REFERENCE

The present Application for Patent is a Division of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/717,526 by ZHOU et al., entitled “ADAPTATION OFPREDETERMINED BEAM SWITCHING,” filed Dec. 17, 2019, which claimspriority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/784,330 by ZHOUet al., entitled “ADAPTATION OF PREDETERMINED BEAM SWITCHING,” filedDec. 21, 2018; which is assigned to the assignee hereof, and which isexpressly incorporated herein.

BACKGROUND

The following relates generally to wireless communications, and morespecifically to adaptation of predetermined beam switching.

Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide varioustypes of communication content such as voice, video, packet data,messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable ofsupporting communication with multiple users by sharing the availablesystem resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of suchmultiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such asLong Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, orLTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may bereferred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employtechnologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time divisionmultiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA),orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM).

A wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number ofbase stations, transmission/reception points (TRPs), or network accessnodes, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiplecommunication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment(UE). In some wireless communications systems, wireless devices (such asa base station and UE) may communicate using directional beams (e.g.,directional transmit beams and directional receive beams) that form beampair links (BPLs) for exchanging data packets. In some cases, thewireless devices may modify one or more BPLs used to communicate, forexample, due to the mobility of one or both of the devices. However,conventional techniques for dynamically managing BPLs may be deficient.

SUMMARY

The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices,and apparatuses that support adaptation of predetermined beam switching.Generally, the described techniques provide for dynamically modifyingcommunications between wireless devices when one or more beam pair links(BPLs) are affected by a degraded link quality. For example, a firstwireless device (e.g., a controlling wireless device, which may be anexample of a base station) may communicate with a second wireless device(e.g., a secondary wireless device, which may be an example of a userequipment (UE)) using a set of BPLs. The first wireless device and thesecond wireless device may cycle through the set of BPLs at respectivetimes of a communication time period, where each BPL of the set of BPLsmay correspond to a different position of the second wireless devicebased on a predetermined movement pattern.

In some cases, one or more BPLs during a portion of the communicationtime period may experience decreased link quality (e.g., as compared toa threshold, as compared to an initial measured link quality, etc.), andthe first wireless device may transmit a configuration that modifies thecommunications between the first and second wireless devices based onthe one or more affected BPLs. For instance, the modified communicationmay include replacing the one or more BPLs having a decreased linkquality with other BPLs that have relatively higher link quality (e.g.,that satisfies a threshold), which may be based on measurementsperformed by the second wireless device. Additionally or alternatively,the modified communications may include using repeated transmissionsduring the portion of the communication time period to enable a robusttransmissions of data packets. In other examples, the modification tothe communications may include updating the communication time period toexclude the portion of the communication time period and correspondingBPLs experiencing the decreased link quality. In any event, dynamicallymodifying the set of BPL, the communication time period, or both, mayensure sustained communications efficiency between the first and secondwireless device in the presence of varying communications conditions.

A method of wireless communication at a controlling wireless device isdescribed. The method may include communicating with a secondarywireless device by cycling through a set of BPLs at respective timeswithin a communication time period, identifying, for a portion of thecommunication time period, at least one BPL of the set of BPLs having alink quality that does not satisfy a threshold, and transmitting, to thesecondary wireless device, a configuration that modifies communicationswith the secondary wireless device during the portion of thecommunication time period.

An apparatus for wireless communication at a controlling wireless deviceis described. The apparatus may include a processor, memory inelectronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored inthe memory. The instructions may be executable by the processor to causethe apparatus to communicate with a secondary wireless device by cyclingthrough a set of BPLs at respective times within a communication timeperiod, identify, for a portion of the communication time period, atleast one BPL of the set of BPLs having a link quality that does notsatisfy a threshold, and transmit, to the secondary wireless device, aconfiguration that modifies communications with the secondary wirelessdevice during the portion of the communication time period.

Another apparatus for wireless communication at a controlling wirelessdevice is described. The apparatus may include means for communicatingwith a secondary wireless device by cycling through a set of BPLs atrespective times within a communication time period, identifying, for aportion of the communication time period, at least one BPL of the set ofBPLs having a link quality that does not satisfy a threshold, andtransmitting, to the secondary wireless device, a configuration thatmodifies communications with the secondary wireless device during theportion of the communication time period.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wirelesscommunication at a controlling wireless device is described. The codemay include instructions executable by a processor to communicate with asecondary wireless device by cycling through a set of BPLs at respectivetimes within a communication time period, identify, for a portion of thecommunication time period, at least one BPL of the set of BPLs having alink quality that does not satisfy a threshold, and transmit, to thesecondary wireless device, a configuration that modifies communicationswith the secondary wireless device during the portion of thecommunication time period.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for determining, based onthe at least one BPL having the link quality that does not satisfy thethreshold, at least one other BPL having a link quality that satisfiesthe threshold during the portion of the communication time period, andwhere the configuration that modifies the communications with thesecondary wireless device replaces the at least one BPL and acorresponding time with the at least one other BPL and anothercorresponding time for the portion of the communication time period.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting a signalrequesting the secondary wireless device perform measurements for theportion of the communication time period, and receiving, from thesecondary wireless device and in response to the signal, a measurementreport for the portion of the communication time period, where the atleast one other BPL and the other corresponding time may be based on thereceived measurement report.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for communicating with thesecondary wireless device during a subsequent instance of thecommunication time period by cycling through the set of BPLs, includingthe at least one other BPL and the other corresponding time, andexcluding the at least one BPL based on the configuration.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for determining, based onthe at least one BPL having the link quality that does not satisfy thethreshold, to utilize repeated transmissions during the portion of thecommunication time period, where the configuration that modifies thecommunications with the secondary wireless device enables the repeatedtransmissions.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein, the repeated transmissionsinclude at least one of repetitions of a packet using a same BPL orrepetitions of the packet using two or more different BPLs. In someexamples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein, the repeated transmissionsinclude simultaneous repetitions of a packet using two or more BPLs.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for determining at leastone of a number of repeated transmissions, a corresponding BPL for eachof the repeated transmissions, or corresponding BPLs for simultaneoustransmissions, and where the configuration that modifies thecommunications with the secondary wireless device includes an indicationof at least one of the number of repeated transmissions, thecorresponding BPLs for each of the repeated transmissions, or thecorresponding BPLs for the simultaneous transmissions.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein, the configuration thatmodifies the communications with the secondary wireless device includesan adjusted communication time period that excludes the portion of thecommunication time period.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting, to thesecondary wireless device, an indication to resume operation inaccordance with the communication time period, where the operation maybe resumed from at least one of a beginning of the communication timeperiod or a designated time of the communication time period. In someexamples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein, the set of BPLs may bepre-determined based on at least one of a position of the secondarywireless device or an orientation of the secondary wireless device.

A method of wireless communications at a secondary wireless device isdescribed. The method may include communicating with a controllingwireless device by cycling through a set of BPLs at respective timeswithin a communication time period and receiving, from the controllingwireless device, a configuration that modifies communications with thecontrolling wireless device during a portion of the communication timeperiod, where the configuration is received based on at least one

BPL of the set of BPLs having a link quality that does not satisfy athreshold during the portion of the communication time period.

An apparatus for wireless communications at a secondary wireless deviceis described. The apparatus may include a processor, memory inelectronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored inthe memory. The instructions may be executable by the processor to causethe apparatus to communicate with a controlling wireless device bycycling through a set of BPLs at respective times within a communicationtime period and receive, from the controlling wireless device, aconfiguration that modifies communications with the controlling wirelessdevice during a portion of the communication time period, where theconfiguration is received based on at least one BPL of the set of BPLshaving a link quality that does not satisfy a threshold during theportion of the communication time period.

Another apparatus for wireless communications at a secondary wirelessdevice is described. The apparatus may include means for communicatingwith a controlling wireless device by cycling through a set of BPLs atrespective times within a communication time period and receiving, fromthe controlling wireless device, a configuration that modifiescommunications with the controlling wireless device during a portion ofthe communication time period, where the configuration is received basedon at least one BPL of the set of BPLs having a link quality that doesnot satisfy a threshold during the portion of the communication timeperiod.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wirelesscommunications at a secondary wireless device is described. The code mayinclude instructions executable by a processor to communicate with acontrolling wireless device by cycling through a set of BPLs atrespective times within a communication time period and receive, fromthe controlling wireless device, a configuration that modifiescommunications with the controlling wireless device during a portion ofthe communication time period, where the configuration is received basedon at least one BPL of the set of BPLs having a link quality that doesnot satisfy a threshold during the portion of the communication timeperiod.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a signalrequesting the secondary wireless device perform measurements for theportion of the communication time period, performing a set ofmeasurements for at least one other BPL during the portion of thecommunication time period, and transmitting, to the controlling wirelessdevice and in response to the signal, a measurement report for theportion of the communication time period.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein, the configuration thatmodifies the communications with the secondary wireless device replacesthe at least one BPL and a corresponding time with the at least oneother BPL and another corresponding time for the portion of thecommunication time period, the at least one other BPL having a linkquality that satisfies the threshold based on the set of measurements.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for communicating with thecontrolling wireless device by cycling through the set of BPLs includingthe at least one other BPL and the other corresponding time andexcluding the at least one BPL during a subsequent instance of thecommunication time period based on the configuration.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for pausing operations ofthe secondary wireless device while performing the set of measurements.In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein, the configuration thatmodifies the communications with the controlling wireless device enablesrepeated transmissions during the portion of the communication timeperiod.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein, the repeated transmissionsinclude at least one of repetitions of a packet using a same BPL orrepetitions of the packet using two or more different BPLs. In someexamples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein, the repeated transmissionsinclude simultaneous transmissions of a packet using two or more BPLs.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein, the configuration thatmodifies the communications with the controlling wireless deviceincludes an indication of at least one of a number of repeatedtransmissions, a corresponding BPL for each repeated transmission, orcorresponding BPLs for simultaneous transmissions. In some examples ofthe method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable mediumdescribed herein, the configuration that modifies the communicationswith the controlling wireless device includes an adjusted communicationtime period that excludes the portion of the communication time period.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described herein may further includeoperations, features, means, or instructions for receiving, from thecontrolling wireless device, an indication to resume operation inaccordance with the communication time period, where the operation maybe resumed from at least one of a beginning of the communication timeperiod or a designated time of the communication time period.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system thatsupports adaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system thatsupports adaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of beam pair link (BPL) switching in asystem that supports adaptation of predetermined beam switching inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate examples of communication time periods thatsupports adaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a communication time period thatsupports adaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a process flow that supports adaptationof predetermined beam switching in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show block diagrams of devices that support adaptation ofpredetermined beam switching in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of a communications manager that supportsadaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 10 shows a diagram of a system including a user equipment (UE) thatsupports adaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 shows a diagram of a system including a base station thatsupports adaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show flowcharts illustrating methods that supportadaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some wireless communication systems may operate in millimeter wave (mmW)frequency ranges, e.g., 25 gigahertz (GHz), 40 GHz, 60 GHz, etc.Wireless communication at these frequencies may be associated withincreased signal attenuation (e.g., path loss), which may be influencedby various factors, such as temperature, barometric pressure,diffraction, etc. As a result, transmissions may be beamformed toovercome the path loss experienced at these frequencies. Wirelessdevices within such systems may accordingly communicate via directionalbeams (e.g., beamformed for transmission and reception using an antennaarray at the wireless device). For example, two or more wireless devicesmay communicate via beam pair links (BPLs), where each BPL includes atransmit beam of one wireless device (e.g., a user equipment (UE)) and areceive beam of another wireless device (e.g., a base station, anotherUE, a transmission/reception point (TRP), etc.).

In some systems, such as systems that support industrial Internet ofThings (IoT), wireless devices may switch between different BPLs, forexample, based on the movement and/or location of the wireless device. Awireless device, such as a UE, may perform a series of movements for acertain task or process that it is programmed to complete, and suchoperation of the UE may be predetermined and/or repeated by the UE. Assuch, BPL switching performed by the UE and base station may also bepredetermined. The BPL switching may include cyclically changing BPLs atrespective times (or time intervals) within a communication time period,which may be based on the location or position of the UE.

However, the UE may operate in an environment that dynamically changesfrom the time the training is performed. For example, in somecommunications environments, a particular predetermined BPL may beblocked or interfered with by other objects or other devices duringoperation of the UE, which may thus affect at least one of thepredetermined BPLs at a corresponding time of the communication timeperiod. As a result, one or more predetermined BPLs may experience poorperformance in at least a portion of the communication time period.Thus, predetermined BPLs that had previously satisfied a link qualitythreshold (e.g., at the time of beam training), may later fail toprovide a suitable communication link between the UE and base station.

As described herein, for one or more BPLs that experience a decreasedlink quality for at least a portion of a communication time period, theaffected BPL(s) may be updated by re-training the BPLs corresponding tothe portion of the communication time period. For instance, one or moreBPLs used by a UE and base station may experience interference thatdegrades the link quality (e.g., such that the link quality fails tosatisfy a threshold) within at least a portion of a communication timeperiod. The base station may signal, to the UE, a request to perform oneor more measurements of BPLs during the time period having the degradedlink quality (e.g., to identify candidate BPLs that have a link qualitythat satisfies the threshold). The UE may report the measurements to thebase station, and the base station may signal an updated localcommunication time period to replace, for example, BPLs andcorresponding times within a portion of the communication time periodexperiencing degraded quality. In such cases, the BPLs and correspondingtimes may be replaced with other BPLs (and their corresponding times)that satisfy the threshold based on the measurement report. The UE andbase station may then communicate using the updated communication timeperiod that includes the updated BPLs.

In some cases, the UE and base station may use communications techniquesthat enable repeated transmissions during the portion of thecommunication time period experiencing decreased link quality. Forexample, when signaling a configuration for the portion of thecommunication time period, a base station may signal that the UE maytransmit and receive repetitions of a packet during the portiondetermined to have degraded link quality. The repeated transmissions mayinclude sending repetitions of the packet with a same BPL, or withdifferent BPLs. Additionally or alternatively, a same packet may besimultaneously transmitted and received using multiple BPLs. In othercases, a base station may use multiple BPLs to simultaneously transmit arepeated packet to the UE, and the UE may likewise receive the packetusing multiple panels (and multiple BPLs). In some examples, the basestation may update the entire communication time period. For example,the base station may provide, to the UE, an updated communication timeperiod that skips the portion that includes the BPLs with degraded linkquality. Additionally or alternatively, corresponding UE movementassociated with the removed time period (and BPLs) may be excluded. Inany event, after an updated configuration of the communication timeperiod is signaled to the UE, the base station may signal the UE toresume operation by starting from the beginning of the communicationtime period, or resume at a particular point of the communication timeperiod (e.g., at a particular time in the middle of the timeframe).

Particular aspects of the subject matter described herein may beimplemented to realize one or more advantages. The described techniquesmay support improvements in communication between the UE and the basestation by increasing the link quality of degraded BPLs. For example,establishing new BPLs based upon the location of the UE may replacedegraded BPLs and therefore the communication efficiency between the UEand the base station may be increased. As such, the supported techniquesmay include improved UE operations, improved base station operations,and may promote network efficiencies, among other benefits.

Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context ofwireless communications systems. Further examples are then providedwhich illustrate communication time periods and the modification ofcommunications between devices using different BPLs and robustcommunications schemes. Aspects of the disclosure are furtherillustrated by and described with reference to apparatus diagrams,system diagrams, and flowcharts that relate to the adaptation ofpredetermined beam switching.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 100that supports adaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communicationssystem 100 includes base stations 105, UEs 115, and a core network 130.In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 may be a LongTerm Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network, an LTE-APro network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some cases, wirelesscommunications system 100 may support enhanced broadband communications,ultra-reliable (e.g., mission critical) communications, low latencycommunications, or communications with low-cost and low-complexitydevices. Wireless communications system 100 may support the use of aBPLs within a communication time period that may be adjusted in responseto dynamically changing wireless conditions.

Base stations 105 may wirelessly communicate with UEs 115 via one ormore base station antennas. Base stations 105 described herein mayinclude or may be referred to by those skilled in the art as a basetransceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radiotransceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next-generation NodeB orgiga-NodeB (either of which may be referred to as a gNB), a Home NodeB,a Home eNodeB, or some other suitable terminology. Wirelesscommunications system 100 may include base stations 105 of differenttypes (e.g., macro or small cell base stations). The UEs 115 describedherein may be able to communicate with various types of base stations105 and network equipment including macro eNBs, small cell eNBs, gNBs,relay base stations, and the like.

Each base station 105 may be associated with a particular geographiccoverage area 110 in which communications with various UEs 115 issupported. Each base station 105 may provide communication coverage fora respective geographic coverage area 110 via communication links 125,and communication links 125 between a base station 105 and a UE 115 mayutilize one or more carriers. Communication links 125 shown in wirelesscommunications system 100 may include uplink transmissions from a UE 115to a base station 105, or downlink transmissions from a base station 105to a UE 115. Downlink transmissions may also be called forward linktransmissions while uplink transmissions may also be called reverse linktransmissions.

The geographic coverage area 110 for a base station 105 may be dividedinto sectors making up a portion of the geographic coverage area 110,and each sector may be associated with a cell. For example, each basestation 105 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a smallcell, a hot spot, or other types of cells, or various combinationsthereof In some examples, a base station 105 may be movable andtherefore provide communication coverage for a moving geographiccoverage area 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas110 associated with different technologies may overlap, and overlappinggeographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies maybe supported by the same base station 105 or by different base stations105. The wireless communications system 100 may include, for example, aheterogeneous LTE/LTE-A/LTE-A Pro or NR network in which different typesof base stations 105 provide coverage for various geographic coverageareas 110.

The term “cell” refers to a logical communication entity used forcommunication with a base station 105 (e.g., over a carrier), and may beassociated with an identifier for distinguishing neighboring cells(e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier(VCID)) operating via the same or a different carrier. In some examples,a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may beconfigured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-typecommunication (MTC), narrowband Internet-of-Things (NB-IoT), enhancedmobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access fordifferent types of devices. In some cases, the term “cell” may refer toa portion of a geographic coverage area 110 (e.g., a sector) over whichthe logical entity operates.

UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the wireless communications system100, and each UE 115 may be stationary or mobile. A UE 115 may also bereferred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, ahandheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitableterminology, where the “device” may also be referred to as a unit, astation, a terminal, or a client. A UE 115 may also be a personalelectronic device such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. Insome examples, a UE 115 may also refer to a wireless local loop (WLL)station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything(IoE) device, or an MTC device, or the like, which may be implemented invarious articles such as appliances, vehicles, meters, or the like.

Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low cost or lowcomplexity devices, and may provide for automated communication betweenmachines (e.g., via Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication). M2Mcommunication or MTC may refer to data communication technologies thatallow devices to communicate with one another or a base station 105without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTCmay include communications from devices that integrate sensors or metersto measure or capture information and relay that information to acentral server or application program that can make use of theinformation or present the information to humans interacting with theprogram or application. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collectinformation or enable automated behavior of machines. Examples ofapplications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventorymonitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcaremonitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological eventmonitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing,physical access control, and transaction-based business charging.

Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ operating modes that reducepower consumption, such as half-duplex communications (e.g., a mode thatsupports one-way communication via transmission or reception, but nottransmission and reception simultaneously). In some examples,half-duplex communications may be performed at a reduced peak rate.Other power conservation techniques for UEs 115 include entering a powersaving “deep sleep” mode when not engaging in active communications, oroperating over a limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowbandcommunications). In some cases, UEs 115 may be designed to supportcritical functions (e.g., mission critical functions), and a wirelesscommunications system 100 may be configured to provide ultra-reliablecommunications for these functions.

In some cases, a UE 115 may also be able to communicate directly withother UEs 115 (e.g., using a peer-to-peer (P2P) or device-to-device(D2D) protocol). One or more of a group of UEs 115 utilizing D2Dcommunications may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of a basestation 105. Other UEs 115 in such a group may be outside the geographiccoverage area 110 of a base station 105, or be otherwise unable toreceive transmissions from a base station 105. In some cases, groups ofUEs 115 communicating via D2D communications may utilize a one-to-many(1:M) system in which each UE 115 transmits to every other UE 115 in thegroup. In some cases, a base station 105 facilitates the scheduling ofresources for D2D communications. In other cases, D2D communications arecarried out between UEs 115 without the involvement of a base station105.

Base stations 105 may communicate with the core network 130 and with oneanother. For example, base stations 105 may interface with the corenetwork 130 through backhaul links 132 (e.g., via an S1, N2, N3, orother interface). Base stations 105 may communicate with one anotherover backhaul links 134 (e.g., via an X2, Xn, or other interface) eitherdirectly (e.g., directly between base stations 105) or indirectly (e.g.,via core network 130).

The core network 130 may provide user authentication, accessauthorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and otheraccess, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be anevolved packet core (EPC), which may include at least one mobilitymanagement entity (MME), at least one serving gateway (S-GW), and atleast one Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW). The MME may managenon-access stratum (e.g., control plane) functions such as mobility,authentication, and bearer management for UEs 115 served by basestations 105 associated with the EPC. User IP packets may be transferredthrough the S-GW, which itself may be connected to the P-GW. The P-GWmay provide IP address allocation as well as other functions. The P-GWmay be connected to the network operators IP services. The operators IPservices may include access to the Internet, Intranet(s), an IPMultimedia Subsystem (IMS), or a Packet-Switched (PS) Streaming Service.

At least some of the network devices, such as a base station 105, mayinclude subcomponents such as an access network entity, which may be anexample of an access node controller (ANC). Each access network entitymay communicate with UEs 115 through a number of other access networktransmission entities, which may be referred to as a radio head, a smartradio head, or a TRP. In some configurations, various functions of eachaccess network entity or base station 105 may be distributed acrossvarious network devices (e.g., radio heads and access networkcontrollers) or consolidated into a single network device (e.g., a basestation 105).

Wireless communications system 100 may operate using one or morefrequency bands, for example, in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300GHz. Generally, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is known as theultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band, since thewavelengths range from approximately one decimeter to one meter inlength. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings andenvironmental features. However, the waves may penetrate structuressufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to UEs 115 locatedindoors. Transmission of UHF waves may be associated with smallerantennas and shorter range (e.g., less than 100 kilometers (km))compared to transmission using the smaller frequencies and longer wavesof the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portion of thespectrum below 300 MHz.

Wireless communications system 100 may also operate in a super highfrequency (SHF) region using frequency bands from 3 GHz to 30 GHz, alsoknown as the centimeter band. The SHF region includes bands such as the5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) bands, which may be usedopportunistically by devices that may be capable of toleratinginterference from other users.

Wireless communications system 100 may also operate in an extremely highfrequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to 300 GHz),also known as the millimeter band. In some examples, wirelesscommunications system 100 may support mmW communications between UEs 115and base stations 105, and EHF antennas of the respective devices may beeven smaller and more closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some cases,this may facilitate use of antenna arrays within a UE 115. However, thepropagation of EHF transmissions may be subject to even greateratmospheric attenuation and shorter range than SHF or UHF transmissions.Techniques disclosed herein may be employed across transmissions thatuse one or more different frequency regions, and designated use of bandsacross these frequency regions may differ by country or regulating body.

In some cases, wireless communications system 100 may utilize bothlicensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example,wireless communications system 100 may employ License Assisted Access(LAA), LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technologyin an unlicensed band such as the 5 GHz ISM band. When operating inunlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands, wireless devices such as basestations 105 and UEs 115 may employ listen-before-talk (LBT) proceduresto ensure a frequency channel is clear before transmitting data. In somecases, operations in unlicensed bands may be based on a carrieraggregation configuration in conjunction with component carriersoperating in a licensed band (e.g., LAA). Operations in unlicensedspectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions,peer-to-peer transmissions, or a combination of these. Duplexing inunlicensed spectrum may be based on frequency division duplexing (FDD),time division duplexing (TDD), or a combination of both.

In some examples, base station 105 or UE 115 may be equipped withmultiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such astransmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO) communications, or beamforming. For example, wirelesscommunications system 100 may use a transmission scheme between atransmitting device (e.g., a base station 105) and a receiving device(e.g., a UE 115), where the transmitting device is equipped withmultiple antennas and the receiving device is equipped with one or moreantennas. MIMO communications may employ multipath signal propagation toincrease the spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiplesignals via different spatial layers, which may be referred to asspatial multiplexing. The multiple signals may, for example, betransmitted by the transmitting device via different antennas ordifferent combinations of antennas. Likewise, the multiple signals maybe received by the receiving device via different antennas or differentcombinations of antennas. Each of the multiple signals may be referredto as a separate spatial stream, and may carry bits associated with thesame data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams.Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna portsused for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO techniques includesingle-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) where multiple spatial layers are transmittedto the same receiving device, and multiple-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) wheremultiple spatial layers are transmitted to multiple devices.

Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering,directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signalprocessing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or areceiving device (e.g., a base station 105 or a UE 115) to shape orsteer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam or receive beam) along aspatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device.Beamforming may be achieved by combining the signals communicated viaantenna elements of an antenna array such that signals propagating atparticular orientations with respect to an antenna array experienceconstructive interference while others experience destructiveinterference. The adjustment of signals communicated via the antennaelements may include a transmitting device or a receiving deviceapplying certain amplitude and phase offsets to signals carried via eachof the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustmentsassociated with each of the antenna elements may be defined by abeamforming weight set associated with a particular orientation (e.g.,with respect to the antenna array of the transmitting device orreceiving device, or with respect to some other orientation).

In one example, a base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antennaarrays to conduct beamforming operations for directional communicationswith a UE 115. For instance, some signals (e.g., synchronizationsignals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other controlsignals) may be transmitted by a base station 105 multiple times indifferent directions, which may include a signal being transmittedaccording to different beamforming weight sets associated with differentdirections of transmission. Transmissions in different beam directionsmay be used to identify (e.g., by the base station 105 or a receivingdevice, such as a UE 115) a beam direction for subsequent transmissionand/or reception by the base station 105.

Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particularreceiving device, may be transmitted by a base station 105 in a singlebeam direction (e.g., a direction associated with the receiving device,such as a UE 115). In some examples, the beam direction associated withtransmissions along a single beam direction may be determined based atleast in in part on a signal that was transmitted in different beamdirections. For example, a UE 115 may receive one or more of the signalstransmitted by the base station 105 in different directions, and the UE115 may report to the base station 105 an indication of the signal itreceived with a highest signal quality, or an otherwise acceptablesignal quality. Although these techniques are described with referenceto signals transmitted in one or more directions by a base station 105,a UE 115 may employ similar techniques for transmitting signals multipletimes in different directions (e.g., for identifying a beam directionfor subsequent transmission or reception by the UE 115), or transmittinga signal in a single direction (e.g., for transmitting data to areceiving device).

A receiving device (e.g., a UE 115, which may be an example of a mmWreceiving device) may try multiple receive beams when receiving varioussignals from the base station 105, such as synchronization signals,reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals. Forexample, a receiving device may try multiple receive directions byreceiving via different antenna subarrays, by processing receivedsignals according to different antenna subarrays, by receiving accordingto different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals receivedat a plurality of antenna elements of an antenna array, or by processingreceived signals according to different receive beamforming weight setsapplied to signals received at a plurality of antenna elements of anantenna array, any of which may be referred to as “listening” accordingto different receive beams or receive directions. In some examples, areceiving device may use a single receive beam to receive along a singlebeam direction (e.g., when receiving a data signal). The single receivebeam may be aligned in a beam direction determined based at least inpart on listening according to different receive beam directions (e.g.,a beam direction determined to have a highest signal strength, highestsignal-to-noise ratio, or otherwise acceptable signal quality based atleast in part on listening according to multiple beam directions).

In some cases, the antennas of a base station 105 or UE 115 may belocated within one or more antenna arrays, which may support MIMOoperations, or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or morebase station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antennaassembly, such as an antenna tower. In some cases, antennas or antennaarrays associated with a base station 105 may be located in diversegeographic locations. A base station 105 may have an antenna array witha number of rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station 105may use to support beamforming of communications with a UE 115.Likewise, a UE 115 may have one or more antenna arrays that may supportvarious MIMO or beamforming operations.

In some cases, wireless communications system 100 may be a packet-basednetwork that operate according to a layered protocol stack. In the userplane, communications at the bearer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol(PDCP) layer may be IP-based. A Radio Link Control (RLC) layer mayperform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate over logicalchannels. A Medium Access Control (MAC) layer may perform priorityhandling and multiplexing of logical channels into transport channels.The MAC layer may also use hybrid automatic repeat request (HARD) toprovide retransmission at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. Inthe control plane, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer mayprovide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRCconnection between a UE 115 and a base station 105 or core network 130supporting radio bearers for user plane data. At the Physical layer,transport channels may be mapped to physical channels.

In some cases, UEs 115 and base stations 105 may support retransmissionsof data to increase the likelihood that data is received successfully.HARQ feedback is one technique of increasing the likelihood that data isreceived correctly over a communication link 125. HARQ may include acombination of error detection (e.g., using a cyclic redundancy check(CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g.,automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ may improve throughput at the MAClayer in poor radio conditions (e.g., signal-to-noise conditions). Insome cases, a wireless device may support same-slot HARQ feedback, wherethe device may provide HARQ feedback in a specific slot for datareceived in a previous symbol in the slot. In other cases, the devicemay provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent slot, or according to someother time interval.

Time intervals in LTE or NR may be expressed in multiples of a basictime unit, which may, for example, refer to a sampling period of T_(s)=1/30,720,000 seconds. Time intervals of a communications resource may beorganized according to radio frames each having a duration of 10milliseconds (ms), where the frame period may be expressed asT_(f)=307,200 T. The radio frames may be identified by a system framenumber (SFN) ranging from 0 to 1023. Each frame may include 10 subframesnumbered from 0 to 9, and each subframe may have a duration of 1 ms. Asubframe may be further divided into 2 slots each having a duration of0.5 ms, and each slot may contain 6 or 7 modulation symbol periods(e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix prepended to eachsymbol period). Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period maycontain 2048 sampling periods. In some cases, a subframe may be thesmallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system 100, andmay be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In othercases, a smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system100 may be shorter than a subframe or may be dynamically selected (e.g.,in bursts of shortened TTIs (sTTIs) or in selected component carriersusing sTTIs).

In some wireless communications systems, a slot may further be dividedinto multiple mini-slots containing one or more symbols. In someinstances, a symbol of a mini-slot or a mini-slot may be the smallestunit of scheduling. Each symbol may vary in duration depending on thesubcarrier spacing or frequency band of operation, for example. Further,some wireless communications systems may implement slot aggregation inwhich multiple slots or mini-slots are aggregated together and used forcommunication between a UE 115 and a base station 105.

The term “carrier” refers to a set of radio frequency spectrum resourceshaving a defined physical layer structure for supporting communicationsover a communication link 125. For example, a carrier of a communicationlink 125 may include a portion of a radio frequency spectrum band thatis operated according to physical layer channels for a given radioaccess technology. Each physical layer channel may carry user data,control information, or other signaling. A carrier may be associatedwith a pre-defined frequency channel (e.g., an evolved universal mobiletelecommunication system terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) absoluteradio frequency channel number (EARFCN)), and may be positionedaccording to a channel raster for discovery by UEs 115. Carriers may bedownlink or uplink (e.g., in an FDD mode), or be configured to carrydownlink and uplink communications (e.g., in a TDD mode). In someexamples, signal waveforms transmitted over a carrier may be made up ofmultiple sub-carriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM)techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) ordiscrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)).

The organizational structure of the carriers may be different fordifferent radio access technologies (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR).For example, communications over a carrier may be organized according toTTIs or slots, each of which may include user data as well as controlinformation or signaling to support decoding the user data. A carriermay also include dedicated acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronizationsignals or system information, etc.) and control signaling thatcoordinates operation for the carrier. In some examples (e.g., in acarrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisitionsignaling or control signaling that coordinates operations for othercarriers.

Physical channels may be multiplexed on a carrier according to varioustechniques. A physical control channel and a physical data channel maybe multiplexed on a downlink carrier, for example, using time divisionmultiplexing (TDM) techniques, frequency division multiplexing (FDM)techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques.

In some examples, control information transmitted in a physical controlchannel may be distributed between different control regions in acascaded manner (e.g., between a common control region or common searchspace and one or more UE-specific control regions or UE-specific searchspaces).

A carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of the radiofrequency spectrum, and in some examples the carrier bandwidth may bereferred to as a “system bandwidth” of the carrier or the wirelesscommunications system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be oneof a number of predetermined bandwidths for carriers of a particularradio access technology (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 MHz). Insome examples, each served UE 115 may be configured for operating overportions or all of the carrier bandwidth. In other examples, some UEs115 may be configured for operation using a narrowband protocol typethat is associated with a predefined portion or range (e.g., set ofsubcarriers or Resource Blocks (RBs)) within a carrier (e.g., “in-band”deployment of a narrowband protocol type).

In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may include onesymbol period (e.g., a duration of one modulation symbol) and onesubcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inverselyrelated. The number of bits carried by each resource element may dependon the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme).Thus, the more resource elements that a UE 115 receives and the higherthe order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate may be forthe UE 115. In MIMO systems, a wireless communications resource mayrefer to a combination of a radio frequency spectrum resource, a timeresource, and a spatial resource (e.g., spatial layers), and the use ofmultiple spatial layers may further increase the data rate forcommunications with a UE 115.

Devices of the wireless communications system 100 (e.g., base stations105 or UEs 115) may have a hardware configuration that supportscommunications over a particular carrier bandwidth, or may beconfigurable to support communications over one of a set of carrierbandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 mayinclude base stations 105 and/or UEs 115 that support simultaneouscommunications via carriers associated with more than one differentcarrier bandwidth.

Wireless communications system 100 may support communication with a UE115 on multiple cells or carriers, a feature which may be referred to ascarrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. A UE 115 may beconfigured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or moreuplink component carriers according to a carrier aggregationconfiguration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both FDD and TDDcomponent carriers.

In some cases, wireless communications system 100 may utilize enhancedcomponent carriers (eCCs). An eCC may be characterized by one or morefeatures including wider carrier or frequency channel bandwidth, shortersymbol duration, shorter TTI duration, or modified control channelconfiguration. In some cases, an eCC may be associated with a carrieraggregation configuration or a dual connectivity configuration (e.g.,when multiple serving cells have a suboptimal or non-ideal backhaullink). An eCC may also be configured for use in unlicensed spectrum orshared spectrum (e.g., where more than one operator is allowed to usethe spectrum). An eCC characterized by wide carrier bandwidth mayinclude one or more segments that may be utilized by UEs 115 that arenot capable of monitoring the whole carrier bandwidth or are otherwiseconfigured to use a limited carrier bandwidth (e.g., to conserve power).

In some cases, an eCC may utilize a different symbol duration than othercomponent carriers, which may include use of a reduced symbol durationas compared with symbol durations of the other component carriers. Ashorter symbol duration may be associated with increased spacing betweenadjacent subcarriers. A device, such as a UE 115 or base station 105,utilizing eCCs may transmit wideband signals (e.g., according tofrequency channel or carrier bandwidths of 20, 40, 60, 80 MHz, etc.) atreduced symbol durations (e.g., 16.67 microseconds). A TTI in eCC mayinclude one or multiple symbol periods. In some cases, the TTI duration(that is, the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable.

Wireless communications system 100 may be an NR system that may utilizeany combination of licensed, shared, and unlicensed spectrum bands,among others. The flexibility of eCC symbol duration and subcarrierspacing may allow for the use of eCC across multiple spectrums. In someexamples, NR shared spectrum may increase spectrum utilization andspectral efficiency, specifically through dynamic vertical (e.g., acrossthe frequency domain) and horizontal (e.g., across the time domain)sharing of resources.

A base station 105 may transmit synchronization signal (SS) sequences tomultiple UEs 115, and a UE 115 may attempt to detect the SS sequences bycorrelating received SS signals with the SS sequences. In some examples,the SSs may be transmitted by the base station 105 using one or more SSblocks (e.g., time-frequency resources used for the transmission ofSSs). For example, primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondarysynchronization sign (SSS), and/or broadcast information (e.g., aphysical broadcast channel (PBCH)) may be transmitted within differentSS blocks on respective directional beams or on different time/frequencyresources. In some cases, one or more SS blocks may be included withinan SS burst. Additionally, SS blocks may be quasi-co located (QCL'ed)with other signals transmitted within wireless communications system100).

A UE 115 may be configured with one or more transmission configurationindicator (TCI) state configurations. Different TCI states,distinguished by different values of the TCI, may correspond to quasico-location (QCL) relationships with different reference signaltransmissions. For example, each TCI state may be associated with one ofthe previously received reference signals. The TCI state may provide aspatial QCL reference that the UE 115 can use to set the receive beam.By configuring the TCI states at the UE 115, the base station 105 candynamically select beams for downlink transmission to the UE 115, andthe UE 115 can select the corresponding receive beam to receive thedownlink transmission. For a downlink transmission, the base station 105may transmit an indication of the TCI state to the UE 115, and the UE115 may select the corresponding receive beam based on the indicated TCIstate to receive the downlink transmission. The TCI states may beconfigured via higher layer signaling.

In some cases, a UE 115 may be configured with one or morecontrol-resource sets (CORESETs), where each CORESET may be associatedwith a particular mapping between control channel elements (CCEs) andresource element groups (REGs). A CORESET may include a number of RBs inthe frequency domain and a number of symbols in the time domain. Forinstance, CORESETs may be configured for the transmission of controlinformation (e.g., a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)), forexample, in one or more contiguous symbols in the time domain and one ormore contiguous or non-contiguous resources in the frequency domain. Insome cases, resource elements (REs) in a CORESET may be organized inREGs, where each REG includes 12 REs of a symbol period in an RB. Insome cases, CORESETs may be configured for the UE 115 using higher-layerparameters (e.g., RRC signaling).

PDCCH carries downlink control information (DCI) in CCEs, which mayinclude nine logically contiguous REGs, where each REG contains fourREs. DCI includes information regarding downlink scheduling assignments,uplink resource grants, transmission scheme, uplink power control, HARQinformation, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), and otherinformation. The size and format of the DCI messages can differdepending on the type and amount of information that is carried by theDCI. For example, if spatial multiplexing is supported, the size of theDCI message is large compared to contiguous frequency allocations.Similarly, for a system that employs MIMO, the DCI must includeadditional signaling information. DCI size and format depend on theamount of information as well as factors such as bandwidth, the numberof antenna ports, and duplexing mode.

PDCCH can carry DCI messages associated with multiple users, and each UE115 may decode the DCI messages that are intended for it. For example,each UE 115 may be assigned a cell-radio network temporary identifier(C-RNTI) and CRC bits attached to each DCI may be scrambled based on theC-RNTI. To reduce power consumption and overhead at the user equipment,a limited set of CCE locations can be specified for DCI associated witha specific UE 115. CCEs may be grouped (e.g., in groups of 1, 2, 4 and 8CCEs), and a set of CCE locations in which the user equipment may findrelevant DCI may be specified. These CCEs may be known as a searchspace. The search space can be partitioned into two regions: a commonCCE region or search space and a UE-specific (dedicated) CCE region orsearch space. The common CCE region is monitored by all UEs served by abase station 105 and may include information such as paging information,system information, random access procedures and the like. TheUE-specific search space may include user-specific control information.CCEs may be indexed, and the common search space may start from CCE 0.The starting index for a UE specific search space depends on the C-RNTI,the subframe index, the CCE aggregation level and a random seed. A UE115 may attempt to decode DCI by performing a process known as a blinddecode, during which search spaces are randomly decoded until the DCI isdetected. During a blind decode, the UE 115 may attempt descramble allpotential DCI messages using its C-RNTI, and perform a CRC check todetermine whether the attempt was successful.

An sounding reference signal (SRS) may be transmitted by a UE 115 usinga predetermined sequence (e.g., a Zadoff-Chu sequence) so that a basestation 105 may estimate the uplink channel quality. An SRS transmissionmay not be associated with transmission of data on another channel, andmay be transmitted periodically on a wide bandwidth (e.g., a bandwidthincluding more subcarriers than are allocated for uplink datatransmission). In some examples, an SRS may be scheduled on multipleantenna ports and still considered to be a single SRS transmission. AnSRS transmission may be categorized as a Type 0 (periodicallytransmitted at equally spaced intervals) SRS or as a Type 1 (aperiodic)SRS. In either case, the base station 105 may control the timing of SRStransmissions by notifying the UE 115 of which TTIs (e.g., subframes)may support the transmission of the SRS. Additionally, a sounding period(e.g., 2 to 230 subframes) and an offset within the sounding period maybe configured for the UE 115. As a result, the UE 115 may transmit theSRS when a subframe that supports SRS transmissions coincides with theconfigured sounding period. In some cases, the SRS may be transmittedduring a temporally last OFDM symbol of the subframe or, in some cases,may be sent during an uplink portion of a special subframe. Datagathered by a base station 105 from an SRS may be used to inform thescheduling of uplink transmissions by the UE 115, such as frequencydependent transmissions. A base station 105 may also utilize an SRS tocheck timing alignment status and send time alignment commands to the UE115.

Wireless communications system 100 may support dynamic modification ofcommunications between wireless devices when one or more BPLs areaffected by a degraded link quality. For example, a first wirelessdevice (e.g., a controlling wireless device, which may be an example ofa base station 105, a TRP, a UE 115, a motion controller, etc.) maycommunicate with a second wireless device (e.g., a secondary wirelessdevice, which may be an example of a UE 115) using a set of BPLs. Thefirst wireless device and the second wireless device may cycle throughthe set of BPLs at respective times of a communication time period,where each BPL of the set of BPLs may correspond to a different positionof the second wireless device based on a predetermined movement patternof the second wireless device. More specifically, the second wirelessdevice may operate in an industrial IoT system (such as a mechanicaldevice operating in a factory) and may perform a number of predeterminedoperations and movements to complete a programmed task. Thepredetermined movement pattern may thus be based on the operations andmovements of the second wireless device, and different BPLs may be usedat different instances of the device's motion, for example, based on thelocation or position of the device.

In some cases, one or more BPLs during a portion of the communicationtime period may experience decreased link quality (e.g., as compared toa threshold, as compared to an initial measured link quality, etc.), andthe first wireless device may transmit a configuration that modifies thecommunications between the first and second wireless device based on theaffected BPLs. For instance, the modified communication may includereplacing the one or more BPLs having a decreased link quality withother BPLs that have relatively higher link quality (e.g., thatsatisfies a threshold), which may be based on measurements performed bythe second wireless device. Additionally or alternatively, the modifiedcommunications may include using repeated transmissions during theportion of the communication time period to enable a robusttransmissions of data packets. In other examples, the modification tothe communications may include updating the communication time period toexclude the portion of the communication time period and correspondingBPLs experiencing the decreased link quality (such that those BPLs mayno longer be cycled through during the updated communication timeperiod). In any event, dynamically modifying the set of BPL, thecommunication time period, or both, may ensure sustained communicationsefficiency between the first and second wireless device in the presenceof varying communications conditions.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 200that supports adaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, wirelesscommunications system 200 may implement aspects of wirelesscommunications system 100. For example, wireless communications systemmay include a base station 105-a and a UE 115-a, which may be examplesof the corresponding devices described with reference to FIG. 1 . Insome cases, wireless communications system 200 may be an example of asystem that supports industrial IoT, and UE 115-a may be an example of amachine or robot capable of performing a specified task or operation.Further, base station 105-a may be an example of a motion controllerthat controls the operation of behavior of UE 115-a. Wirelesscommunications system 200 may support the adaptation of pre-determinedbeam switching based on, for example, the movement of UE 115-a. Theadaptation may enable the devices in wireless communications system 200to dynamically modify communications schemes to improve wirelesscommunications efficiency.

In wireless communications system 200, base station 105-a and UE 115-amay communicate using directional beams. For example, base station 105-amay use beamforming techniques to form a set of base station beams 205used for transmitting and receiving wireless signals. Likewise, UE 115-amay form a set of UE beams 210 for transmitting and receiving wirelesssignals. In some cases, UE 115-a and base station 105-a may performprocedures to identify one or more beams that provide a highest signalor link quality (e.g., compared to other beams within a set of basestation beams 205 and UE beams 210), which may include the measurementof one or more reference signals (e.g., channel state informationreference signal (CSI-RS), SS Blocks, etc.) transmitted by base station105-a. UE 115-a and base station 105-a may each identify one or morepairs of corresponding beams that provide a link to communicate databetween the devices. As such, UE 115-a and base station 105-a mayestablish a communication link using a beam pair link 215.

As an example of establishing a communication link, the BPL 215 mayinclude a transmission beam formed by the transmitting entity anddirectional listening implemented by the receiving entity. For example,in downlink communications, base station 105-a may use a phased-arrayantenna to form a directional transmission beam and UE 115-a may usedirectional listening. In some cases, a base station beam 205 (e.g.,directional listening beam or transmission beam) formed by base station105-a may be larger than a UE beam 210 (e.g., a transmission beam ordirection listening) formed by UE 115-a (e.g., because base station105-a may have a larger array of antennas to perform beamforming). Inuplink communications, the roles of base station 105-a and UE 115-a maybe reversed. In some cases, wireless communications system 200 mayoperate in shared radio frequency band spectrum. As such, wirelesscommunications system 200 may use contention-based protocols to gainaccess communication resources. In other examples, wirelesscommunications system 200 may operate in licensed radio frequencyspectrum bands, where communications may be scheduled by base station105-a.

UE 115-a and base station 105-a may switch between different BPLs 215,for example, based on the movement and/or location of UE 115-a. As anexample, UE 115-a may be an example of a machine or robot operating in afactory or warehouse. UE 115-a may perform a series of movements for acertain task or process that it is programmed to complete. In somecases, this operation of UE 115-a may be predetermined (e.g.,preconfigured), and UE 115-a may repeat these predetermined movements.For instance, UE 115-a may move between points (e.g., points A, B, andC, as illustrated) in accordance with a predetermined movements. Assuch, BPL switching performed by UE 115-a and base station may likewisebe predetermined (e.g., to reduce overhead associated with beam switchmeasurements, reporting, signaling, etc.). BPL switching may includecyclically adjusting or changing BPLs 215 at respective times (or timeintervals) within a communication time period, which may be based on alocation or position of UE 115-a.

To determine the predetermined BPL switching configuration for thecommunication period, UE 115-a may perform the predetermined movementsduring a measurement period. UE 115-a and base station 105-a may recordBPLs 215 that have a link quality that satisfies a threshold (e.g., athreshold associated with a reference signal received power (RSRP),reference signal received quality (RSRQ), block error rate (BLER),signal to noise ratio (SNR), signal to interference-plus-noise ratio(SINR), or the like), where each measurement may be performed atrespective times of the measurement period. That is, UE 115-a and basestation 105-a may perform a beam training procedure to identify BPLs 215having a highest link quality (as compared to other possible BPLs 215)corresponding to each movement of the UE 115-a within a predefinedmovement pattern. In some cases, UE 115-a and base station 105-a maysweep through the set of UE beams 210 and base station beams 205,respectively, to identify the BPLs 215 having the highest link quality.Further, while in normal operation (e.g., operating outside of ameasurement/training period), UE 115-a may repeat the same series ofpredetermined movements, while both base station 105-a and UE 115-aswitch BPLs 215 at each predetermined time based on a communication timeperiod.

However, UE 115-a may operate in an environment that dynamically changesfrom the time the training is performed. For example, in an industrialIoT environment, a particular BPL 215 may be blocked or interfered withby other objects or other devices during operation, which may thusaffect at least one of the pre-determined BPLs 215 at a correspondingtime of the communication time period. As a result, one or morepredetermined BPLs 215 may experience poor performance at least in someportion of the communication time period. As a result, predeterminedBPLs 215 that have previously satisfied a link quality threshold (e.g.,at the time of beam training), may later fail to provide a sufficientcommunication link between UE 115-a and base station 105-a.

As described herein, upon detection of at least one BPL 215 havingdecreased link quality (e.g., as compared to an initial quality, apreviously determined quality, a threshold, etc.), base station 105-amay signal UE 115-a to perform a re-training of the at least one BPL 215in a local period (e.g., a portion) of the communication time periodbased on the poor quality detected in that portion. In such cases,normal operation may or may not be paused while the training iscompleted. After the training is completed, base station 105-a maytransmit, to UE 115-a, an updated local portion of the communicationtime period to replace a corresponding portion of the communication timeperiod. More specifically, the at least one BPL 215 having decreasedlink quality (and their corresponding time within the communication timeperiod) may be replaced with another set of BPLs 215 (and correspondingtimes) that have relatively higher link quality. In some aspects, in theupdated portion of the communication time period signaled to UE 115-a,base station 105-a may specify a number of repeated transmissions andcorresponding BPLs 215 per repeated transmissions. Additionally oralternatively, base station 105-a may signal a number of repeatedsimultaneous transmissions and corresponding BPLs 215 per simultaneoustransmission. In some examples, base station 105-a may signal UE 115-ato remove a local portion of a communication time period andcorresponding movements from the communication time period based on theBPLs 215 experiencing decreased link quality. Further, after thecommunication time period is reconfigured or reprogrammed, base station105-a may signal UE 115-a to resume operation by starting from abeginning or any time in within the communication time period.

It is noted that the operations described herein performed by a UE 115and base station 105 may be respectively performed by a UE 115, a basestation 105, or another wireless device, and the examples shown shouldnot be construed as limiting. For instance, the operations shown asperformed by base station 105-a may be performed by a UE 115, a TRP, oranother wireless device.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of BPL switching 300 in a system thatsupports adaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the BPL switching300 may be performed by one or more wireless devices, such as a UE 115,a base station 105, a TRP, or other wireless devices, as described withreference to FIGS. 1 and 2 .

BPL switching 300 may illustrate an example of predetermined movements305 by a wireless device, such as a UE 115. For instance, thepredetermined movements 305 may include a configured or programmed paththat the UE 115 travels during a period of time. In some cases, the UE115 may repeat the predetermined movements 305, or the predeterminedmovements 305 may be modified or changed (e.g., by a controllingwireless device, such as a base station 105) after a certain number ofcycles. As one example, the UE 115 may be an example of machinery thatperforms actions over a programmed path of operation. However, this isjust one example, and should not be considered as limiting as othertypes of UEs 115 and other predetermined movements are also considered.

The predetermined movements 305 may correspond to a communication timeperiod 310 that includes cycling through a set of BPLs 315 at respectivetimes, and may be referred to as a BPL time trace. As mentioned above,each BPL 315 may correspond to a transmit beam and a receive beambetween, for example, a UE 115 and a TRP. At the respective times of thepredetermined movements 305, different BPLs 315 may be used forcommunication by the wireless devices. For instance, at a first time(T0), the UE 115 and TRP may communicate using a first BPL 315, whereasat a second time (T1), the BPL 315 may change to a second BPL 315. Insuch cases, the change of the BPL 315 may be based on the pre-determinedmovement of the UE 115, which may have been configured based ontraining/measurements performed by the UE 115 and TRP. As such thedifferent BPLs 315 may track the UE 115 as it moves through thepredetermined movements 305.

As described in more detail below, one or more of the BPLs 315 within atleast a portion of the communication time period 310 may experienceinterference from other wireless devices or objects. As such, a BPL 315of the communication time period 310, and the corresponding position ofthe UE 115 in the predetermined movements, may be affected by degradedcommunications quality at least at that location in the movement of theUE 115. Consequently, the TRP may utilize the techniques describedherein to modify communications by the UE 115 and TRP to improve thelink quality for one or more BPLs 315.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate an example of a communication time period 401and 402, respectively, that supports adaptation of predetermined beamswitching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In someexamples, communication time period 401 and communication time period402 may be used for communications between one or more wireless devices,such as a UE 115, a base station 105, a TRP, or other wireless devices(such as a controlling wireless device and/or a secondary wirelessdevice), as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 . As illustrated,communication time period 402 may represent an updated version ofcommunication time period 401 (e.g., where one or more BPLs have beenreplaced within at least a portion of the communication time periods).

For example, in communication time period 401 a UE 115 and TRP maycommunicate using a set of BPLs 405, where the communication may includecycling through a set of BPLs 405 at respective times. In some cases,the UE 115 or the TRP may identify at least one BPL 405 that has a linkquality that has degraded. As one example, within a portion 410 of thecommunication time period 401, one or more BPLs 405 may have a linkquality that does not satisfy a threshold due to interference or otherfactors in the communications environment. The portion 410 of thecommunications time period 401 may span between a first time (T1) and asecond time (T2), and may include two BPLs 405 corresponding torespective times of the portion 410. In other examples, multipleportions 410 including BPLs 405 having BPLs 405 with a degraded linkquality may be identified.

Due to the decreased link quality of the BPLs 405, transmissions usingthe BPLs 405 may be received with errors, or may not be received by areceiving wireless device. In cases where the one or more BPLs 405 havea decreased link quality (e.g., an increased BLER, increasedretransmissions, etc.) for the portion 410 of the communication timeperiod 401, the affected BPL(s) 405 may be updated by re-training theBPLs 405 of the portion 410. For instance, and as illustrated incommunication time period 402, the affected BPL(s) 405 may be replacedwith different BPLs 405 that have a link quality that satisfies thethreshold. Such techniques may enable improved communications byupdating at least one BPL 405 that may be affected by interference.Further, the described techniques may be performed dynamically as thecommunications environment between the UE 115 and TRP changes, allowingmultiple updates to the BPLs 405 and the communication time period 401used by the TRP and UE 115.

In some examples, the TRP may signal a request for the UE 115 to performone or more measurements of BPLs 405 during the portion 410 having thedegraded link quality (e.g., to identify candidate BPLs 405 that have alink quality that satisfies the threshold). In some examples, the UE 115may pause its operation to perform the measurements, or may continueoperating while performing the measurements. The UE 115 may report themeasurements to the TRP, and the TRP may signal a configuration thatindicates an updated local communication time period to replace, forexample, BPLs 405 and corresponding times within the portion 410. Insome cases, the configuration may be signaled using semi-staticsignaling, such as RRC messaging or a MAC control element (MAC-CE). TheBPLs 405 and corresponding times may be replaced with the other BPLs 405and their corresponding times based on the measurement report. The UE115 and TRP may then resume operation using the updated communicationtime period 402 that includes the replaced BPLs 405. In some cases,after an updated configuration of the communication time period 401 issignaled to the UE 115, the TRP may signal the UE 115 to resumeoperation by starting from the beginning of the communication timeperiod 402, or resume at a particular point of the communication timeperiod 402 (e.g., at a particular time in the middle of thecommunication time period 402).

In some examples, instead of updating the one or more BPLs 405 having adecreased link quality within the portion 410 of the communication timeperiod 401, the TRP may update the entire communication time period 401.For example, the TRP may provide, to the UE 115, an updatedcommunication time period 401 that skips the portion 410 that includesthe BPLs 405 with degraded link quality. As such, the portion 410between T1 and T2 of the communication time period 401 may be removed.Additionally or alternatively, corresponding UE 115 movements associatedwith the removed time period may also be excluded.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a communication time period 500 thatsupports adaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, communication timeperiod 401 and communication time period 402 may be used forcommunications between one or more wireless devices, such as a UE 115, abase station 105, a TRP, or other wireless devices (such as acontrolling wireless device and/or a secondary wireless device), asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 . The communication timeperiod 500 may illustrate the use of repeated transmissions in responseto identifying at least one BPL having a link quality that does notsatisfy a threshold.

As described herein, a communication time period 500 may be based on aset of predetermined movements by a UE 115. Further, respective BPLs 505may be affected by degraded link quality after a set of BPLs 505 areconfigured for the UE's movements. That is, BPLs 505 within a portion510 of the communication time period 500 may have decreased link quality(e.g., as compared to prior measurements or as compared to other BPLs505) due to interference. In such cases, the UE 115 and TRP may usecommunications techniques that enable repeated transmissions during theportion 510 of the communication time period 500 experiencing decreasedlink quality.

For example, when signaling a configuration for the portion of thecommunication time period, a TRP may signal that a UE 115 may transmitand receive repetitions of a packet during the portion 510 determined tohave degraded link quality. The repeated transmissions may includesending repetitions of the packet with a same BPL 505, or with differentBPLs 505. Additionally or alternatively, a same packet may besimultaneously transmitted and received using multiple BPLs 505. Forinstance, the packet may be transmitted by multiple TRPs and received bybeams on respective panels (e.g., antenna arrays) of the UE 115. Inother cases, a TRP may use multiple BPLs to simultaneously transmit arepeated packet to the UE 115, and the UE 115 may likewise receive thepacket using multiple panels (and multiple BPLs 505). In some examples,the repeated transmissions may be transmitted to or received fromdifferent wireless devices. For instance, the UE 115 may be signaled totransmit repeated transmissions to multiple TRPs (e.g., using respectiveBPLs for each TRP) to ensure transmitted packet is received. The use ofthe repeated transmissions may enable robust communications during theportion 510 of the communication time period 500 that may be affected byinterference.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a process flow 600 that supportsadaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure. In some examples, process flow 600 may implementaspects of wireless communications system 100. For instance, processflow includes a controlling wireless device 605, which may be an exampleof a base station 105, a TRP, or a UE 115, as described with referenceto FIGS. 1 and 2 . Additionally, process flow 600 includes a secondarywireless device 610, which may be an example of a UE 115 or anotherdevice that is controlled by, for example, a controlling wireless device605. Process flow 600 may illustrate the use of modified communicationsschemes through the adjustment of BPLs used by each device in thepresence of interference.

At 615, the controlling wireless device 605 may transmit, and thesecondary wireless device 610 may receive, a configuration of acommunication time period. The communication time period may include aset of BPLs that are used to transmit and receive data at respectivetimes of the communication time period. In some cases, the configurationmay be signaled using RRC signaling, using a MAC-CE, or other types ofsignaling supported by the wireless devices. In some cases, theconfiguration may be based on a previously-completed beam training (andmeasurements) for a series of predetermined movements by the secondarywireless device 610.

At 620, the controlling wireless device 605 and the secondary wirelessdevice 610 may communicate by cycling through a set of BPLs atrespective times within a communication time period. In such cases, eachBPL of the set of BPLs may correspond to different locations of thesecondary wireless device 610 as it progresses through predeterminedmovements.

At 625, the controlling wireless device 605 may identify, for a portionof the communication time period, at least one BPL of the set of BPLshaving a link quality that does not satisfy a threshold. As an example,the controlling wireless device 605 may detect that a link quality for aBPL has decreased from a previously recorded value (e.g., by a certainquantity). In other cases, the controlling wireless device 605 mayidentify a number of retransmissions requested by the secondary wirelessdevice 610 (e.g., using HARQ feedback) for the BPL having decreased linkquality. In any event, the link quality of at least one BPL may triggerthe controlling wireless device 605 to enable techniques that updateBPLs for communication with the secondary wireless device 610.

At 630, the controlling wireless device 605 may transmit, and thesecondary wireless device 610 may receive, a signal requesting thesecondary wireless device perform measurements for the portion of thecommunication time period. As such, at 635, the secondary wirelessdevice 610 may perform a set of measurements for BPLs for the identifiedportion of the communication time period. In such cases, the secondarywireless device 610 may identify a best BPL (e.g., a BPL having ahighest signal quality with relation to other possible BPLs). At 640,the secondary wireless device 610 may transmit a measurement report tothe controlling wireless device 605. In some cases, the measurementreport may include an indication of the BPL identified by the secondarywireless device 610.

At 645, the controlling wireless device 605 may determine, based on theat least one BPL having the link quality that does not satisfy thethreshold, at least one other BPL having a link quality that satisfiesthe threshold during the portion of the communication time period. Insome cases, the at least one other BPL and the other corresponding timemay be based on the received measurement report.

At 650, the controlling wireless device 605 may transmit, and thesecondary wireless device 610 may receive, a configuration that modifiescommunications with the secondary wireless device 610 during the portionof the communication time period. In some examples, the configurationthat modifies the communications with the secondary wireless device 610replaces the at least one BPL and a corresponding time with the at leastone other BPL and another corresponding time for the portion of thecommunication time period. In such cases, at 655, the controllingwireless device 605 and the secondary wireless device 610 maycommunicate during a subsequent instance of the communication timeperiod by cycling through the set of BPLs, including the at least oneother BPL and the other corresponding time, and excluding the at leastone BPL based at least in part on the configuration.

Additionally or alternatively, the configuration that modifies thecommunications with the secondary wireless device 610 may enablerepeated transmissions by the devices. In such cases, the controllingwireless device 605 may determine, based on the at least one BPL havingthe link quality that does not satisfy the threshold, to utilizerepeated transmissions during the portion of the communication timeperiod. Accordingly, the controlling wireless device 605 may determineat least one of a number of repeated transmissions, a corresponding BPLfor each of the repeated transmissions, or corresponding BPLs forsimultaneous transmissions, where the repeated transmissions may includerepetitions of a packet using a same BPL, or repetitions of the packetusing two or more different BPLs, or simultaneous repetitions of apacket using two or more BPLs, or a combination thereof

In other examples, the configuration that modifies the communicationswith the secondary wireless device 610 includes an adjustedcommunication time period that excludes the portion of the communicationtime period. That is, at 655, the controlling wireless device 605 andthe secondary wireless device 610 may communicate during a subsequentcommunication time period without portion (and corresponding the BPLs)of the communication time period. In some cases, the communications at655 may be triggered by a signal from the controlling wireless device605, or may be resumed autonomously. In some examples, the operations ofprocess flow 600 may be performed repeatedly, where the controllingwireless device 605 may continually monitor for BPLs having a decreasedlink quality, and update the BPLs used for communications through any ofthe described techniques.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram 700 of a device 705 that supportsadaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure. The device 705 may be an example of aspects of aUE 115, base station 105, controlling wireless device, secondarywireless device, or TRP as described herein. The device 705 may includea receiver 710, a communications manager 715, and a transmitter 720. Thedevice 705 may also include a processor. Each of these components may bein communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 710 may receive information such as packets, user data, orcontrol information associated with various information channels (e.g.,control channels, data channels, and information related to adaptationof predetermined beam switching, etc.). Information may be passed on toother components of the device 705. The receiver 710 may be an exampleof aspects of the transceiver 1020 or 1120 as described with referenceto FIGS. 10 and 11 . The receiver 710 may utilize a single antenna or aset of antennas.

The communications manager 715 may communicate with a secondary wirelessdevice by cycling through a set of BPLs at respective times within acommunication time period, identify, for a portion of the communicationtime period, at least one BPL of the set of BPLs having a link qualitythat does not satisfy a threshold, and transmit, to the secondarywireless device, a configuration that modifies communications with thesecondary wireless device during the portion of the communication timeperiod. The communications manager 715 may also communicate with acontrolling wireless device by cycling through a set of BPLs atrespective times within a communication time period and receive, fromthe controlling wireless device, a configuration that modifiescommunications with the controlling wireless device during a portion ofthe communication time period, where the configuration is received basedon at least one BPL of the set of BPLs having a link quality that doesnot satisfy a threshold during the portion of the communication timeperiod. The communications manager 715 may be an example of aspects ofthe communications manager 1010 or 1110 as described herein.

The communications manager 715, or its sub-components, may beimplemented in hardware, code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by aprocessor, or any combination thereof If implemented in code executed bya processor, the functions of the communications manager 715, or itssub-components may be executed by a general-purpose processor, a digitalsignal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmablelogic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed in the present disclosure.

The communications manager 715, or its sub-components, may be physicallylocated at various positions, including being distributed such thatportions of functions are implemented at different physical locations byone or more physical components. In some examples, the communicationsmanager 715, or its sub-components, may be a separate and distinctcomponent in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.In some examples, the communications manager 715, or its sub-components,may be combined with one or more other hardware components, includingbut not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, anetwork server, another computing device, one or more other componentsdescribed in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

Transmitter 720 may transmit signals generated by other components ofthe device 705. In some examples, the transmitter 720 may be collocatedwith a receiver 710 in a transceiver module. For example, thetransmitter 720 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1020 or1120 as described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11 . The transmitter720 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

In some examples, the UE communications manager 715 may be implementedas an integrated circuit or chipset for a mobile device modem, and thereceiver 710 and transmitter 720 may be implemented as analog components(e.g., amplifiers, filters, antennas) coupled with the mobile devicemodem to enable wireless transmission and reception over one or morebands.

The communications manager 715 as described herein may be implemented torealize one or more potential advantages. One implementation may allowdevice 705 to determine link quality of a BPL to a base station, and insome cases, establish a new BPL. The new BPL may increase thecommunication efficiency between device 705 and the base station, whichmay promote network efficiencies, among other benefits.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram 800 of a device 805 that supportsadaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure. The device 805 may be an example of aspects of adevice 705, a UE 115, a base station 105, a controlling wireless device,a secondary wireless device, or a TRP as described herein. The device805 may include a receiver 810, a communications manager 815, and atransmitter 835. The device 805 may also include a processor. Each ofthese components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via oneor more buses).

Receiver 810 may receive information such as packets, user data, orcontrol information associated with various information channels (e.g.,control channels, data channels, and information related to adaptationof predetermined beam switching, etc.). Information may be passed on toother components of the device 805. The receiver 810 may be an exampleof aspects of the transceiver 1020 or 1120 as described with referenceto FIGS. 10 and 11 . The receiver 810 may utilize a single antenna or aset of antennas.

The communications manager 815 may be an example of aspects of thecommunications manager 715 as described herein. The communicationsmanager 815 may include a BPL manager 820, a link quality manager 825,and a configuration manager 830. The communications manager 815 may bean example of aspects of the communications manager 1010 or 1110 asdescribed herein.

The BPL manager 820 may communicate with a secondary wireless device bycycling through a set of BPLs at respective times within a communicationtime period. Additionally or alternatively, the BPL manager 820 maycommunicate with a controlling wireless device by cycling through theset of BPLs at the respective times within the communication timeperiod. The link quality manager 825 may identify, for a portion of thecommunication time period, at least one BPL of the set of BPLs having alink quality that does not satisfy a threshold.

The configuration manager 830 may transmit, to a secondary wirelessdevice, a configuration that modifies communications with the secondarywireless device during the portion of the communication time period.Additionally or alternatively, the configuration manager 830 mayreceive, from a controlling wireless device, a configuration thatmodifies communications with the controlling wireless device during aportion of the communication time period, where the configuration isreceived based on at least one BPL of the set of BPLs having a linkquality that does not satisfy a threshold during the portion of thecommunication time period.

Transmitter 835 may transmit signals generated by other components ofthe device 805. In some examples, the transmitter 835 may be collocatedwith a receiver 810 in a transceiver module. For example, thetransmitter 835 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1020 or1120 as described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11 . The transmitter835 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram 900 of a communications manager 905 thatsupports adaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure. The communications manager 905 may bean example of aspects of a communications manager 715, a communicationsmanager 815, or a communications manager 1010 described herein. Thecommunications manager 905 may include a BPL manager 910, a link qualitymanager 915, a configuration manager 920, a measurement component 925, arepeated transmission component 930, and an operation manager 935. Eachof these modules may communicate, directly or indirectly, with oneanother (e.g., via one or more buses).

The BPL manager 910 may communicate with a secondary wireless device bycycling through a set of BPLs at respective times within a communicationtime period. In some examples, the BPL manager 910 may communicate witha controlling wireless device by cycling through the set of BPLs atrespective times within a communication time period. In some examples,the BPL manager 910 may determine, based on the at least one BPL havingthe link quality that does not satisfy the threshold, at least one otherBPL having a link quality that satisfies the threshold during theportion of the communication time period.

In some examples, the BPL manager 910 may communicate with the secondarywireless device during a subsequent instance of the communication timeperiod by cycling through the set of BPLs, including the at least oneother BPL and the other corresponding time, and excluding the at leastone BPL based on the configuration. In some examples, the BPL manager910 may communicate with the controlling wireless device by cyclingthrough the set of BPLs including the at least one other BPL and theother corresponding time and excluding the at least one BPL during asubsequent instance of the communication time period based on theconfiguration. In some cases, the set of BPLs may be pre-determinedbased on at least one of a position of the secondary wireless device oran orientation of the secondary wireless device.

The link quality manager 915 may identify, for a portion of thecommunication time period, at least one BPL of the set of BPLs having alink quality that does not satisfy a threshold. The configurationmanager 920 may transmit, to the secondary wireless device, aconfiguration that modifies communications with the secondary wirelessdevice during the portion of the communication time period. In someexamples, the configuration manager 920 may receive, from thecontrolling wireless device, a configuration that modifiescommunications with the controlling wireless device during a portion ofthe communication time period, where the configuration is received basedon at least one BPL of the set of BPLs having a link quality that doesnot satisfy a threshold during the portion of the communication timeperiod.

In some examples, the configuration that modifies the communicationswith the secondary wireless device may replace the at least one BPL anda corresponding time with the at least one other BPL and anothercorresponding time for the portion of the communication time period. Insome examples, the configuration that modifies the communications withthe secondary wireless device may include an indication of at least oneof the number of repeated transmissions, the corresponding BPLs for eachof the repeated transmissions, or the corresponding BPLs for thesimultaneous transmissions.

In some cases, the configuration that modifies the communications withthe secondary wireless device includes an adjusted communication timeperiod that excludes the portion of the communication time period. Insome cases, the configuration that modifies the communications with thesecondary wireless device replaces the at least one BPL and acorresponding time with the at least one other BPL and anothercorresponding time for the portion of the communication time period, theat least one other BPL having a link quality that satisfies thethreshold based on the set of measurements.

In some cases, the configuration that modifies the communications withthe controlling wireless device enables repeated transmissions duringthe portion of the communication time period. Additionally oralternatively, the configuration that modifies the communications withthe controlling wireless device includes an adjusted communication timeperiod that excludes the portion of the communication time period.

The measurement component 925 may transmit a signal requesting thesecondary wireless device perform measurements for the portion of thecommunication time period. In some examples, the measurement component925 may receive, from the secondary wireless device and in response tothe signal, a measurement report for the portion of the communicationtime period, where the at least one other BPL and the othercorresponding time is based on the received measurement report. In someexamples, the measurement component 925 may receive a signal requestingthe secondary wireless device perform measurements for the portion ofthe communication time period.

In some examples, the measurement component 925 may perform a set ofmeasurements for at least one other BPL during the portion of thecommunication time period. In some examples, the measurement component925 may transmit, to the controlling wireless device and in response tothe signal, a measurement report for the portion of the communicationtime period.

The repeated transmission component 930 may determine, based on the atleast one BPL having the link quality that does not satisfy thethreshold, to utilize repeated transmissions during the portion of thecommunication time period, where the configuration that modifies thecommunications with the secondary wireless device enables the repeatedtransmissions. In some examples, the repeated transmission component 930may determine at least one of a number of repeated transmissions, acorresponding BPL for each of the repeated transmissions, orcorresponding BPLs for simultaneous transmissions.

In some cases, the repeated transmissions include at least one ofrepetitions of a packet using a same BPL or repetitions of the packetusing two or more different BPLs. In some cases, the repeatedtransmissions include simultaneous repetitions of a packet using two ormore BPLs. In some examples, the repeated transmissions include at leastone of repetitions of a packet using a same BPL or repetitions of thepacket using two or more different BPLs. In some cases, the repeatedtransmissions include simultaneous transmissions of a packet using twoor more BPLs. In some cases, the configuration that modifies thecommunications with the controlling wireless device includes anindication of at least one of a number of repeated transmissions, acorresponding BPL for each repeated transmission, or corresponding BPLsfor simultaneous transmissions.

The operation manager 935 may transmit, to the secondary wirelessdevice, an indication to resume operation in accordance with thecommunication time period, where the operation is resumed from at leastone of a beginning of the communication time period or a designated timeof the communication time period. In some examples, the operationmanager 935 may pause operations of the secondary wireless device whileperforming the set of measurements. In some examples, the operationmanager 935 may receive, from the controlling wireless device, anindication to resume operation in accordance with the communication timeperiod, where the operation is resumed from at least one of a beginningof the communication time period or a designated time of thecommunication time period.

FIG. 10 shows a diagram of a system 1000 including a device 1005 thatsupports adaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure. The device 1005 may be an example ofor include the components of device 705, device 805, or a secondarywireless device, or a controlling wireless device, or a UE 115 asdescribed herein. The device 1005 may include components forbi-directional voice and data communications including components fortransmitting and receiving communications, including a communicationsmanager 1010, a transceiver 1020, an antenna 1025, memory 1030, aprocessor 1040, and an I/O controller 1050. These components may be inelectronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1055).

The communications manager 1010 may communicate with a secondarywireless device by cycling through a set of BPLs at respective timeswithin a communication time period, identify, for a portion of thecommunication time period, at least one BPL of the set of BPLs having alink quality that does not satisfy a threshold, and transmit, to thesecondary wireless device, a configuration that modifies communicationswith the secondary wireless device during the portion of thecommunication time period. The communications manager 1010 may alsocommunicate with a controlling wireless device by cycling through a setof BPLs at respective times within a communication time period andreceive, from the controlling wireless device, a configuration thatmodifies communications with the controlling wireless device during aportion of the communication time period, where the configuration isreceived based on at least one BPL of the set of BPLs having a linkquality that does not satisfy a threshold during the portion of thecommunication time period.

Transceiver 1020 may communicate bi-directionally, via one or moreantennas, wired, or wireless links as described herein. For example, thetransceiver 1020 may represent a wireless transceiver and maycommunicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. Thetransceiver 1020 may also include a modem to modulate the packets andprovide the modulated packets to the antennas for transmission, and todemodulate packets received from the antennas. In some cases, thewireless device may include a single antenna 1025. However, in somecases the device may have more than one antenna 1025, which may becapable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wirelesstransmissions.

The memory 1030 may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory(ROM), or a combination thereof. The memory 1030 may storecomputer-readable code 1035 including instructions that, when executedby a processor (e.g., the processor 1040) cause the device to performvarious functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 1030 maycontain, among other things, a basic I/O system (BIOS) which may controlbasic hardware or software operation such as the interaction withperipheral components or devices.

The processor 1040 may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., ageneral-purpose processor, a DSP, a central processing unit (CPU), amicrocontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, adiscrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardwarecomponent, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor1040 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memorycontroller. In other cases, a memory controller may be integrated intothe processor 1040. The processor 1040 may be configured to executecomputer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory1030) to cause the device 1005 to perform various functions (e.g.,functions or tasks supporting adaptation of predetermined beamswitching).

The I/O controller 1050 may manage input and output signals for thedevice 1005. The I/O controller 1050 may also manage peripherals notintegrated into the device 1005. In some cases, the I/O controller 1050may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral.In some cases, the I/O controller 1050 may utilize an operating systemsuch as iOS®, ANDROID®, MS-DOS®, MS-WINDOWS®, OS/2®, UNIX®, LINUX®, oranother known operating system. In other cases, the I/O controller 1050may represent or interact with a modem, a keyboard, a mouse, atouchscreen, or a similar device. In some cases, the I/O controller 1050may be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a user mayinteract with the device 1005 via the I/O controller 1050 or viahardware components controlled by the I/O controller 1050.

The code 1035 may include instructions to implement aspects of thepresent disclosure, including instructions to support wirelesscommunications. The code 1035 may be stored in a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium such as system memory or other type of memory.In some cases, the code 1035 may not be directly executable by theprocessor 1040 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled andexecuted) to perform functions described herein.

FIG. 11 shows a diagram of a system 1100 including a device 1105 thatsupports adaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure. The device 1105 may be an example ofor include the components of device 705, device 805, or a controllingwireless device, or a secondary wireless device, or a base station 105as described herein. The device 1105 may include components forbi-directional voice and data communications including components fortransmitting and receiving communications, including a communicationsmanager 1110, a network communications manager 1115, a transceiver 1120,an antenna 1125, memory 1130, a processor 1140, and an inter-stationcommunications manager 1145. These components may be in electroniccommunication via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1155).

The communications manager 1110 may communicate with a secondarywireless device by cycling through a set of BPLs at respective timeswithin a communication time period, identify, for a portion of thecommunication time period, at least one BPL of the set of BPLs having alink quality that does not satisfy a threshold, and transmit, to thesecondary wireless device, a configuration that modifies communicationswith the secondary wireless device during the portion of thecommunication time period. The communications manager 1110 may alsocommunicate with a controlling wireless device by cycling through a setof BPLs at respective times within a communication time period andreceive, from the controlling wireless device, a configuration thatmodifies communications with the controlling wireless device during aportion of the communication time period, where the configuration isreceived based on at least one BPL of the set of BPLs having a linkquality that does not satisfy a threshold during the portion of thecommunication time period.

Network communications manager 1115 may manage communications with thecore network (e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links). For example,the network communications manager 1115 may manage the transfer of datacommunications for client devices, such as one or more UEs 115.

Transceiver 1120 may communicate bi-directionally, via one or moreantennas, wired, or wireless links as described herein. For example, thetransceiver 1120 may represent a wireless transceiver and maycommunicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. Thetransceiver 1120 may also include a modem to modulate the packets andprovide the modulated packets to the antennas for transmission, and todemodulate packets received from the antennas. In some cases, thewireless device may include a single antenna 1125. However, in somecases the device may have more than one antenna 1125, which may becapable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wirelesstransmissions.

The memory 1130 may include RAM, ROM, or a combination thereof. Thememory 1130 may store computer-readable code 1135 including instructionsthat, when executed by a processor (e.g., the processor 1140) cause thedevice to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, thememory 1130 may contain, among other things, a BIOS which may controlbasic hardware or software operation such as the interaction withperipheral components or devices.

The processor 1140 may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., ageneral-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, anFPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logiccomponent, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof).In some cases, the processor 1140 may be configured to operate a memoryarray using a memory controller. In other cases, a memory controller maybe integrated into the processor 1140. The processor 1140 may beconfigured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory(e.g., the memory 1130) to cause the device 1105 to perform variousfunctions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting adaptation ofpredetermined beam switching).

Inter-station communications manager 1145 may manage communications withother base station 105, and may include a controller or scheduler forcontrolling communications with UEs 115 in cooperation with other basestations 105. For example, the inter-station communications manager 1145may coordinate scheduling for transmissions to UEs 115 for variousinterference mitigation techniques such as beamforming or jointtransmission. In some examples, inter-station communications manager1145 may provide an X2 interface within an LTE/LTE-A wirelesscommunication network technology to provide communication between basestations 105.

The code 1135 may include instructions to implement aspects of thepresent disclosure, including instructions to support wirelesscommunications. The code 1135 may be stored in a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium such as system memory or other type of memory.In some cases, the code 1135 may not be directly executable by theprocessor 1140 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled andexecuted) to perform functions described herein.

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1200 that supportsadaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure. The operations of method 1200 may be implementedby a controlling wireless device (such as a UE 115, TRP, or base station105) or its components as described herein. For example, the operationsof method 1200 may be performed by a communications manager as describedwith reference to FIGS. 7 through 11 . In some examples, a UE or basestation may execute a set of instructions to control the functionalelements of the UE or base station to perform the functions describedherein. Additionally or alternatively, a UE or base station may performaspects of the functions described herein using special-purposehardware.

At 1205, the controlling wireless device may communicate with asecondary wireless device by cycling through a set of BPLs at respectivetimes within a communication time period. The operations of 1205 may beperformed according to the methods described herein. In some examples,aspects of the operations of 1205 may be performed by a BPL manager asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 7 through 11 .

At 1210, the controlling wireless device may identify, for a portion ofthe communication time period, at least one BPL of the set of BPLshaving a link quality that does not satisfy a threshold. The operationsof 1210 may be performed according to the methods described herein. Insome examples, aspects of the operations of 1210 may be performed by alink quality manager as described with reference to FIGS. 7 through 11 .

At 1215, the controlling wireless device may transmit, to the secondarywireless device, a configuration that modifies communications with thesecondary wireless device during the portion of the communication timeperiod. The operations of 1215 may be performed according to the methodsdescribed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1215may be performed by a configuration manager as described with referenceto FIGS. 7 through 11 .

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1300 that supportsadaptation of predetermined beam switching in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure. The operations of method 1300 may be implementedby a secondary wireless device (such as a UE 115 or base station 105) orits components as described herein. For example, the operations ofmethod 1300 may be performed by a communications manager as describedwith reference to FIGS. 7 through 11 . In some examples, a UE or basestation may execute a set of instructions to control the functionalelements of the UE or base station to perform the functions describedherein. Additionally or alternatively, a UE or base station may performaspects of the functions described herein using special-purposehardware.

At 1305, the secondary wireless device may communicate with acontrolling wireless device by cycling through a set of BPLs atrespective times within a communication time period. The operations of1305 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In someexamples, aspects of the operations of 1305 may be performed by a BPLmanager as described with reference to FIGS. 7 through 11 .

At 1310, the secondary wireless device may receive, from the controllingwireless device, a configuration that modifies communications with thecontrolling wireless device during a portion of the communication timeperiod, where the configuration is received based on at least one BPL ofthe set of BPLs having a link quality that does not satisfy a thresholdduring the portion of the communication time period. The operations of1310 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In someexamples, aspects of the operations of 1310 may be performed by aconfiguration manager as described with reference to FIGS. 7 through 11.

It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possibleimplementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearrangedor otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible.Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.

Techniques described herein may be used for various wirelesscommunications systems such as code division multiple access (CDMA),time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access(FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), andother systems. A CDMA system may implement a radio technology such asCDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), etc. CDMA2000covers IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards. IS-2000 Releases may becommonly referred to as CDMA2000 1x, 1x, etc. IS-856 (TIA-856) iscommonly referred to as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD),etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. ATDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Global System forMobile Communications (GSM).

An OFDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Ultra MobileBroadband (UMB), E-UTRA, Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20,Flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS). LTE, LTE-A, and LTE-A Pro are releasesof UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR,and GSM are described in documents from the organization named “3rdGeneration Partnership Project” (3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are describedin documents from an organization named “3rd Generation PartnershipProject 2” (3GPP2). The techniques described herein may be used for thesystems and radio technologies mentioned herein as well as other systemsand radio technologies. While aspects of an LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NRsystem may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-APro, or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, thetechniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro,or NR applications.

A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g.,several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEswith service subscriptions with the network provider. A small cell maybe associated with a lower-powered base station, as compared with amacro cell, and a small cell may operate in the same or different (e.g.,licensed, unlicensed, etc.) frequency bands as macro cells. Small cellsmay include pico cells, femto cells, and micro cells according tovarious examples. A pico cell, for example, may cover a small geographicarea and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptionswith the network provider. A femto cell may also cover a smallgeographic area (e.g., a home) and may provide restricted access by UEshaving an association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closedsubscriber group (CSG), UEs for users in the home, and the like). An eNBfor a macro cell may be referred to as a macro eNB. An eNB for a smallcell may be referred to as a small cell eNB, a pico eNB, a femto eNB, ora home eNB. An eNB may support one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four,and the like) cells, and may also support communications using one ormultiple component carriers.

The wireless communications systems described herein may supportsynchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, thebase stations may have similar frame timing, and transmissions fromdifferent base stations may be approximately aligned in time. Forasynchronous operation, the base stations may have different frametiming, and transmissions from different base stations may not bealigned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for eithersynchronous or asynchronous operations.

Information and signals described herein may be represented using any ofa variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data,instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chipsthat may be referenced throughout the description may be represented byvoltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles,optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof

The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection withthe disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with ageneral-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA, or otherprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform thefunctions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be amicroprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be anyconventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. Aprocessor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices(e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiplemicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, or any other such configuration).

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, softwareexecuted by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof Ifimplemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may bestored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are withinthe scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to thenature of software, functions described herein can be implemented usingsoftware executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, orcombinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may alsobe physically located at various positions, including being distributedsuch that portions of functions are implemented at different physicallocations.

Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storagemedia and communication media including any medium that facilitatestransfer of a computer program from one place to another. Anon-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that can beaccessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way ofexample, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media mayinclude, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flashmemory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any othernon-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired programcode means in the form of instructions or data structures and that canbe accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or ageneral-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection isproperly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the softwareis transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using acoaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line(DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave,then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, orwireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave areincluded in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein,include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD),floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce datamagnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above are also included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media.

As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items(e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of” or“one or more of”) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, alist of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BCor ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase “basedon” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions.For example, an exemplary step that is described as “based on conditionA” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, asused herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manneras the phrase “based at least in part on.”

In the appended figures, similar components or features may have thesame reference label. Further, various components of the same type maybe distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a secondlabel that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the firstreference label is used in the specification, the description isapplicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label, or othersubsequent reference label.

The description set forth herein, in connection with the appendeddrawings, describes example configurations and does not represent allthe examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of theclaims. The term “exemplary” used herein means “serving as an example,instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred” or “advantageous overother examples.” The detailed description includes specific details forthe purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques.These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shownin block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of thedescribed examples.

The description herein is provided to enable a person skilled in the artto make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosurewill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the genericprinciples defined herein may be applied to other variations withoutdeparting from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is notlimited to the examples and designs described herein, but is to beaccorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novelfeatures disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for wireless communications at asecondary wireless device, comprising: a processor; memory coupled withthe processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable bythe processor to cause the apparatus to: communicate with a controllingwireless device by cycling through a plurality of beam pair links (BPLs)at respective times within a communication time period; and receive,from the controlling wireless device, a configuration that modifiescommunications with the controlling wireless device during a portion ofthe communication time period, wherein the configuration is receivedbased at least in part on at least one BPL of the plurality of BPLshaving a link quality that does not satisfy a threshold during theportion of the communication time period.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor tocause the apparatus to: receive a signal requesting the secondarywireless device perform measurements for the portion of thecommunication time period; perform a set of measurements for at leastone other BPL during the portion of the communication time period; andtransmit, to the controlling wireless device and in response to thesignal, a measurement report for the portion of the communication timeperiod.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the configuration thatmodifies the communications with the secondary wireless device replacesthe at least one BPL and a corresponding time with the at least oneother BPL and another corresponding time for the portion of thecommunication time period, the at least one other BPL having a linkquality that satisfies the threshold based at least in part on the setof measurements.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the instructionsare further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:communicate with the controlling wireless device by cycling through theplurality of BPLs including the at least one other BPL and the othercorresponding time and excluding the at least one BPL during asubsequent instance of the communication time period based at least inpart on the configuration.
 5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein theinstructions are further executable by the processor to cause theapparatus to: pause operations of the secondary wireless device whileperforming the set of measurements.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe configuration that modifies the communications with the controllingwireless device enables repeated transmissions during the portion of thecommunication time period.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein therepeated transmissions comprise at least one of repetitions of a packetusing a same BPL or repetitions of the packet using two or moredifferent BPLs.
 8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the repeatedtransmissions comprise simultaneous transmissions of a packet using twoor more BPLs.
 9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the configurationthat modifies the communications with the controlling wireless devicecomprises an indication of at least one of a number of repeatedtransmissions, a corresponding BPL for each repeated transmission, orcorresponding BPLs for simultaneous transmissions.
 10. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the configuration that modifies the communications withthe controlling wireless device comprises an adjusted communication timeperiod that excludes the portion of the communication time period. 11.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are furtherexecutable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive, from thecontrolling wireless device, an indication to resume operation inaccordance with the communication time period, wherein the operation isresumed from at least one of a beginning of the communication timeperiod or a designated time of the communication time period.
 12. Amethod for wireless communications at a secondary wireless device,comprising: communicating with a controlling wireless device by cyclingthrough a plurality of beam pair links (BPLs) at respective times withina communication time period; and receiving, from the controllingwireless device, a configuration that modifies communications with thecontrolling wireless device during a portion of the communication timeperiod, wherein the configuration is received based at least in part onat least one BPL of the plurality of BPLs having a link quality thatdoes not satisfy a threshold during the portion of the communicationtime period.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: receiving asignal requesting the secondary wireless device perform measurements forthe portion of the communication time period; performing a set ofmeasurements for at least one other BPL during the portion of thecommunication time period; and transmitting, to the controlling wirelessdevice and in response to the signal, a measurement report for theportion of the communication time period.
 14. The method of claim 13,wherein the configuration that modifies the communications with thesecondary wireless device replaces the at least one BPL and acorresponding time with the at least one other BPL and anothercorresponding time for the portion of the communication time period, theat least one other BPL having a link quality that satisfies thethreshold based at least in part on the set of measurements.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, further comprising: communicating with thecontrolling wireless device by cycling through the plurality of BPLsincluding the at least one other BPL and the other corresponding timeand excluding the at least one BPL during a subsequent instance of thecommunication time period based at least in part on the configuration.16. The method of claim 13, further comprising: pausing operations ofthe secondary wireless device while performing the set of measurements.17. The method of claim 12, wherein the configuration that modifies thecommunications with the controlling wireless device enables repeatedtransmissions during the portion of the communication time period. 18.The method of claim 17, wherein the repeated transmissions comprise atleast one of repetitions of a packet using a same BPL or repetitions ofthe packet using two or more different BPLs.
 19. The method of claim 17,wherein the repeated transmissions comprise simultaneous transmissionsof a packet using two or more BPLs.
 20. The method of claim 17, whereinthe configuration that modifies the communications with the controllingwireless device comprises an indication of at least one of a number ofrepeated transmissions, a corresponding BPL for each repeatedtransmission, or corresponding BPLs for simultaneous transmissions. 21.The method of claim 12, wherein the configuration that modifies thecommunications with the controlling wireless device comprises anadjusted communication time period that excludes the portion of thecommunication time period.
 22. The method of claim 12, furthercomprising: receiving, from the controlling wireless device, anindication to resume operation in accordance with the communication timeperiod, wherein the operation is resumed from at least one of abeginning of the communication time period or a designated time of thecommunication time period.
 23. An apparatus for wireless communicationsat a secondary wireless device, comprising: means for communicating witha controlling wireless device by cycling through a plurality of beampair links (BPLs) at respective times within a communication timeperiod; and means for receiving, from the controlling wireless device, aconfiguration that modifies communications with the controlling wirelessdevice during a portion of the communication time period, wherein theconfiguration is received based at least in part on at least one BPL ofthe plurality of BPLs having a link quality that does not satisfy athreshold during the portion of the communication time period.
 24. Theapparatus of claim 23, further comprising: means for receiving a signalrequesting the secondary wireless device perform measurements for theportion of the communication time period; means for performing a set ofmeasurements for at least one other BPL during the portion of thecommunication time period; and means for transmitting, to thecontrolling wireless device and in response to the signal, a measurementreport for the portion of the communication time period.
 25. Theapparatus of claim 24, wherein the configuration that modifies thecommunications with the secondary wireless device replaces the at leastone BPL and a corresponding time with the at least one other BPL andanother corresponding time for the portion of the communication timeperiod, the at least one other BPL having a link quality that satisfiesthe threshold based at least in part on the set of measurements.
 26. Theapparatus of claim 25, further comprising: means for communicating withthe controlling wireless device by cycling through the plurality of BPLsincluding the at least one other BPL and the other corresponding timeand excluding the at least one BPL during a subsequent instance of thecommunication time period based at least in part on the configuration.27. The apparatus of claim 24, further comprising: means for pausingoperations of the secondary wireless device while performing the set ofmeasurements.
 28. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the configurationthat modifies the communications with the controlling wireless deviceenables repeated transmissions during the portion of the communicationtime period.
 29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein: the repeatedtransmissions comprise at least one of repetitions of a packet using asame BPL or repetitions of the packet using two or more different BPLs.30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wirelesscommunications at a secondary wireless device, the code comprisinginstructions executable by a processor to: communicate with acontrolling wireless device by cycling through a plurality of beam pairlinks (BPLs) at respective times within a communication time period; andreceive, from the controlling wireless device, a configuration thatmodifies communications with the controlling wireless device during aportion of the communication time period, wherein the configuration isreceived based at least in part on at least one BPL of the plurality ofBPLs having a link quality that does not satisfy a threshold during theportion of the communication time period.